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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

CERF  LIBRARY 

PRESENTED  BY 

REBECCA  CERF  '02 

IN  THE  NAMES  OF 

CHARLOTTE  CERF  '95 

MARCEL  E.  CERF  '97 

BARRY  CERF  '02 


THE    LAND   OF 

THE 

BLUE    FLOWER 


From  a  Painting  by  Sigismond  de  Ivanoiuski 


'  There  is  no  time  for  anger ' 


THE     LAND    OF 

THE 

BLUE    FLOWER 

BY 

FRANCES  HODGSON  BURNETT 


WITH    A    FRONTISPIECE 
BY 

SIGISMOND    DE   IVANOWSKI 


NEW   YORK 

MOFFAT,  YARD   AND   COMPANY 
1909 


53  7 


Copyright,  1908,  1909,  by 

THE  HOLIDAY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 

All  rights  reserved 
PUBLISHED,  SEPTEMBER,  1909 


The  Plimpton  Press  Norwood  Mass.  U3A. 


MAW 


PART  I 


M566938 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


PART  I 

HE  Land  of  the  Blue  Flower  was 
not  called  by  that  name  until  the 
tall,  strong,  beautiful  King  Amor  came 
down  from  his  castle  on  the  mountain 
crag  and  began  to  reign.  Before  that 
time  it  was  called  King  Mordreth's 
Land,  and  as  the  first  King  Mor- 
dreth  had  been  a  fierce  and  cruel 
king  this  seemed  a  gloomy  name. 

A  few  weeks  before  Amor  was  born, 
his  weak,  selfish  boy-father  —  whose 
name  was  King  Mordreth  also  —  had 
been  killed  while  hunting,  and  his  fair 
mother  with  the  clear  eyes  died  when 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


he  was  but  a  few  hours  old.  But 
early  in  that  day  she  sent  for  her  ven 
erable  friend  and  teacher,  who  was 
said  to  be  the  oldest  and  wisest  man 
in  the  world,  and  who  long  ago  had 
fled  to  a  cave  in  the  mountains,  that 
he  might  see  no  more  of  the  famine  and 
disorder  and  hatred  in  the  country 
spread  out  on  the  plains  below. 

He  was  a  marvelous  old  man,  al 
most  a  giant  in  size,  and  having  great 
blue  eyes  like  deep  sea-water.  They, 
too,  were  clear  eyes  like  the  fair  Queen's 
-  they  seemed  to  see  all  things  and  to 
hold  in  their  depths  no  single  thought 
which  was  not  fine  and  great.  The 
people  were  a  little  afraid  of  him  when 
they  saw  him  go  striding  majestic 
ally  through  their  streets.  They  had 
no  name  for  him  but  The  Ancient  One. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

The  lovely  Queen  drew  aside  the 
embroidered  coverlet  of  her  gold  and 
ivory  bed  and  showed  him  the  tiny 
baby  sleeping  by  her  side. 

"He  was  born  a  King,"  she  said. 
"No  one  can  help  him  but  you." 

The  Ancient  One  looked  down  at 
him. 

"He  has  long  limbs  and  strong  ones. 
He  will  make  a  great  King,"  he  said. 
"Give  him  to  me." 

The  Queen  held  out  the  little  new 
born  one  in  her  arms. 

"Take  him  away  quickly  before  he 
hears  the  people  quarreling  at  the 
palace  gate,"  she  said.  "Take  him  to 
the  castle  on  the  mountain  crag.  Keep 
him  there  until  he  is  old  enough  to 
come  down  and  be  King.  When  the 
sun  sinks  behind  the  clouds  I  shall  die, 

5 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

but  if  he  is  with  you  he  will  learn  what 
Kings  should  know." 

The  Ancient  One  took  the  child, 
folded  him  in  his  long  gray  robe  and 
strode  majestically  through  the  palace 
gates,  through  the  ugly  city  and  out 
over  the  plains  to  the  mountain.  When 
he  began  to  climb  its  steep  sides  the 
sun  was  setting  and  casting  a  golden 
rose  color  over  the  big  rocks  and  the 
wild  flowers  and  bushes  which  grew 
on  every  side,  so  that  there  seemed  no 
path  to  be  found.  But  the  Ancient 
One  knew  his  way  anywhere  in  the 
world  without  a  path  to  guide  him. 
He  climbed  and  climbed,  and  little 
King  Amor  slept  soundly  in  the  folds 
of  his  gray  robe.  He  reached  the  sum 
mit  at  last  and  pushing  his  way  through 
a  jungle  of  twisted  vines  starred  all 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

over  with  pale  sweet-scented  buds,  he 
stood  looking  at  the  castle  which  was 
set  on  the  very  topmost  crag,  and 
looked  out  over  the  mountain's  edge 
at  the  sea  and  the  sky  and  the  spread 
ing  plains  below. 

The  sky  was  dark  blue  now  and  lit  by 
a  myriad  stars,  and  all  was  so  still  that 
the  world  seemed  thousands  of  miles 
away,  and  ugliness  and  squalor  and 
people  who  quarreled  seemed  things 
which  were  not  true.  A  sweet  cool 
wind  blew  about  them  as  the  Ancient 
One  took  King  Amor  from  the  folds 
of  his  gray  robe  and  laid  him  on  the 
carpet  of  scented  moss. 

"The  stars  are  very  near,"  he  said. 
"  Waken,  young  King,  and  see  how 
near  they  are  and  know  they  are  your 
brothers.  Your  brother  the  wind  is 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

bringing  to  you  the  breath  of  your 
brothers  the  trees.  You  are  at  home." 

Then  King  Amor  opened  his  eyes, 
and  when  he  saw  the  stars  in  the  dark 
blueness  above  him  he  smiled,  and 
though  he  was  not  yet  a  whole  day  old 
he  threw  up  his  small  hand  and  it 
touched  his  forehead. 

"Like  a  King  and  a  soldier  he 
salutes  them,"  said  the  Ancient  One; 
"though  he  does  not  know  he  did  it." 

The  castle  was  huge  and  splendid 
though  it  had  been  deserted  for  a  hun 
dred  years.  For  three  generations  the 
royal  owners  had  not  cared  to  look  out 
on  the  world  from  high  places.  They 
knew  nothing  of  the  wind  and  the  trees 
and  the  stars;  they  lived  on  the  plains 
in  their  cities,  and  hunted  and  rioted 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

and  levied  heavy  taxes  on  their  wretched 
people.  And  the  castle  had  lived 
through  its  summers  and  winters  alone. 
It  had  battlements  and  towers  which 
stood  out  clear  against  the  sky,  and 
there  was  a  .great  banquet  hall  and 
chambers  for  hundreds  of  guests,  and 
rooms  for  a  thousand  men  at  arms, 
and  the  courtyard  was  big  enough  to 
hold  a  tournament  in. 

In  the  midst  of  its  space  and  splendor 
the  little  King  Amor  lived  alone  but 
for  the  companionship  of  the  Ancient 
One  and  a  servant  as  old  as  himself. 
But  they  knew  a  secret  which  had  kept 
them  young  in  spite  of  the  years  they 
had  passed  through.  They  knew  that 
they  were  the  brothers  of  all  things  in 
the  world,  and  that  the  man  who  never 
knows  an  angered  or  evil  thought  can 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


never  know  a  foe.  They  were  strong 
and  straight  and  wise,  and  the  wildest 
creature  stopped  to  give  them  greeting 
as  it  passed,  and  they  understood  its 
language  when  it  spoke.  Because  they 
held  no  dark  thoughts  in  their  minds 
they  knew  no  fear,  and  because  they 
knew  no  fear  the  wild  creatures  knew 
none  and  the  speech  of  each  was  clear 
to  the  other. 

Each  morning  they  went  out  on  the 
battlements  at  dawn  to  see  the  splendid 
sun  rise  slowly  out  of  the  purple  sea. 
One  of  the  very  first  things  the  child 
King  Amor  remembered  in  his  life  - 
and  he  remembered  it  always  —  was  a 
dawning  day  when  the  Ancient  One 
wakened  him  gently,  and  folding  him 
in  his  long  gray  robe  carried  him  up 
the  winding  and  narrow  stone  stairway, 


10 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


until  at  last  they  stepped  forth  on  the 
top  of  the  huge  castle  which  seemed 
to  the  little  creature  to  be  so  high  that 
it  was  quite  close  to  the  wonderful  sky 
itself. 

"The  sun  is  going  to  rise  and  wake 
the  world,"  said  the  Ancient  One. 
"Young  King,  watch  the  wonder  of  it." 

Amor  lifted  his  little  head  and  looked. 
He  was  only  just  old  enough  to  be 
beginning  to  understand  things,  but  he 
loved  the  Ancient  One  and  all  he  said 
and  did. 

Far  below  the  mountain  crag  lay  the 
sea.  In  the  night,  while  it  slept,  it  had 
looked  dark  blue  or  violet,  but  now  it 
was  slowly  changing  its  color.  The 
sky  was  changing  too  —  it  was  growing 
paler  and  paler  —  next  it  grew  faintly 
brighter,  so  did  the  sea;  then  a  slight 


ii 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


flush  crept  over  land  and  water  and 
all  the  small  floating  clouds  were  rosy 
pink.  King  Amor  smiled  because  birds' 
voices  were  to  be  heard  in  the  trees  and 
bushes,  and  something  golden  bright 
was  rising  out  of  the  edge  of  the  ocean, 
and  sparkling  light  danced  on  the 
waves.  It  rose  higher  and  higher  and 
grew  so  dazzling  and  wonderful  that  he 
threw  out  his  little  hand  with  a  shout 
of  joy.  The  next  moment  he  started 
back  because  there  rose  near  him  a 
loud  whirr  and  beating  of  powerful 
wings  as  a  great  bird  flew  out  of  a  crag 
near  by  and  soared  high  into  the  radi 
ant  morning  heavens. 

"It  is  the  eagle  who  is  our  neighbor," 
said  the  Ancient  One.  "He  has  awa 
kened  and  gone  to  give  his  greeting  to 
the  sun." 


12 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

And  as  the  little  King  sat  upright, 
enraptured,  he  saw  that  from  the  daz 
zling  brightness  at  the  edge  of  the 
world  there  leaped  forth  a  ball  of  liv 
ing  gold  and  fire,  and  even  he  knew 
that  the  sun  had  risen. 

"At  every  day's  dawn  it  leaps  forth 
like  that,"  said  the  Ancient  One.  "Let 
us  watch  together  and  I  will  tell  you 
stories  of  it." 

So  they  sat  by  the  battlement  and  the 
stories  were  told.  They  were  stories  of 
the  small  grains  lying  hid  in  the  dark 
earth  waiting  for  the  golden  heat  of  the 
sun  to  draw  them  forth  into  life  until 
they  covered  the  tilled  fields  with  wav 
ing  wheat  to  make  bread  for  the  world ; 
they  were  stories  of  the  seeds  of  fair 
flowers  warmed  and  ripened  until  they 
burst  into  scented  blossoms;  they  were 

13 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


stories  of  the  roots  of  trees  and  the  rich 
sap  drawn  upward  by  the  heat  until 
great  branches  and  thick  leafage  waved 
in  the  summer  air;  they  were  stories 
of  men,  women,  and  children  walking 
with  light  step  and  glad  because  of  the 
gold  of  the  sun. 

"Every  day  it  warms,  every  day  it 
draws,  every  day  it  ripens  and  gives 
life.  And  there  are  many  who  forget 
the  wonder  of  it.  Lift  your  head  high 
as  you  walk,  young  King,  and  often 
look  upward.  Never  forget  the  sun." 

At  every  dawning  they  rose  and  saw 
together  the  wonder  of  the  day;  and  the 
first  time  the  sky  was  heavy  with  gray 
clouds  and  the  sun  did  not  leap  upward 
from  behind  the  edge  of  the  world  the 
Ancient  One  said  another  thing. 

''The   burning   gold    is   behind    the 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

lowering  gray  and  purple.  The  clouds 
are  heavy  with  soft  rain.  When  they 
break  they  will  drop  it  in  showers  or 
splendid  storms  and  the  thirsty  earth 
will  drink  it  up.  The  grains  will  drink 
it  and  the  seed  and  the  roots,  and  the 
world  will  be  joyous  and  rich  with 
fresh  life;  the  springs  will  bubble  up 
like  crystal,  and  the  brooks  will  rush 
babbling  through  the  green  of  the 
forest.  The  drinking  places  for  the 
cattle  will  be  full  and  clear  and  men  and 
women  will  feel  rested  and  cool.  Lift 
your  head  high  when  you  walk,  young 
King,  and  often  look  upward.  Never 
forget  the  clouds." 

So  hearing  these  things  every  day 
King  Amor  learned  the  meaning  of  both 
sun  and  cloud  and  loved  and  felt  him 
self  brother  to  both. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


The  first  time  he  remembered  seeing 
a  storm  the  Ancient  One  took  him  to 
the  battlements  again,  and  together  they 
watched  the  dark  clouds  pour  down 
their  floods  while  their  purple  was  riven 
by  the  dazzling  lances  of  the  lightning; 
and  the  thunder  rolled  and  crashed  and 
seemed  to  rend  asunder  things  no  hu 
man  eye  could  see ;  and  the  wind  roared 
round  the  castle  on  the  mountain  crag 
and  beat  against  its  towers,  and  tossed 
the  branches  of  the  hugest  trees,  and 
whirled  the  rain  in  sheets  over  the 
land,  —  and  King  Amor  stood  erect 
and  strong  like  some  little  soldier, 
though  he  wondered  where  the  small 
birds  were  and  if  the  eagle  were  in  his 
nest. 

Through  all  the  tumult  the  Ancient 
One  stood  still.  He  looked  taller  than 

16 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

ever  in  his  long  gray  robe,  and  his 
strange  eyes  were  deep  as  the  sea. 

At  last  he  said  in  a  slow,  calm  voice: 
:<This  is  the  voice  of  the  power  men 
know  not.  No  man  has  yet  quite 
understood  —  though  it  seems  to  speak. 
Harken  to  it.  Let  your  soul  stand 
silent.  Listen,  young  King.  Hold  your 
head  high  as  you  walk  and  often  look 
upward.  Never  forget  the  storm." 

So  the  King  learned  to  love  the  storm 
and  be  one  with  it,  knowing  no  fear. 

But  perhaps  —  it  might  be  because 
he  had  been  laid  on  the  scented  moss 
and  had  without  knowing  it  saluted 
them  on  the  first  night  of  his  life  —  he 
felt  nearest  to,  and  loved  most,  his 
brothers  the  stars. 

Every  fair  night  through  the  King's 
earliest  years  the  Ancient  One  carried 

'7 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

him  to  the  battlements  and  let  him  fall 
asleep  beneath  the  shining  myriads. 
But  first  he  would  walk  about  bearing 
him  in  his  arms,  or  sit  with  him  in 
the  splendid  silence,  sometimes  relating 
wonders  to  him  in  a  low  voice,  some 
times  uttering  no  word,  only  looking 
calmly  into  the  high  vault  above  as  if 
the  stars  spoke  to  him  and  told  him  of 
perfect  peace. 

"When  a  man  looks  long  at  them/' 
he  said,  "he  grows  calm  and  forgets 
small  things.  They  answer  his  ques 
tions  and  show  him  that  his  earth  is 
only  one  of  the  million  worlds.  Hold 
your  soul  still  and  look  upward  often, 
and  you  will  understand  their  speech. 
Never  forget  the  stars." 


18 


PART    II 


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"All  these  wonders  in  one  world  and 

you  a  man  upon  it,"  said  the  Ancient 

. 

9 

One.     "Hold  high  your  head  when  you 

walk,    young    King,    and    often    look 

21 

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THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

upward.  Never  forget  one  marvel 
among  them  all." 

He  forgot  nothing.  He  lived  looking 
out  on  all  things  from  great,  clear,  joy 
ous  eyes.  Upon  his  mountain  crag  he 
never  heard  a  paltry  or  unbeautiful 
word  or  knew  of  the  existence  of  un 
friendliness  or  baseness  in  thought.  As 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  go  out 
alone  he  roamed  about  the  great  moun 
tain  and  feared  neither  storm  nor  wild 
beasts.  Shaggy-maned  lions  and  their 
mates  drew  near  and  fawned  on  him  as 
their  kind  had  fawned  on  young  Adam 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  There  had 
never  passed  through  his  mind  the 
thought  that  they  were  not  his  friends. 
He  did  not  know  that  there  were  men 
who  killed  their  wild  brothers. 

In  the  huge  courtyard  of  the  castle 


22 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

he  learned  to  ride  and  to  perform  great 
feats  of  strength.  Because  he  had  not 
learned  to  be  afraid  he  never  feared 
that  he  could  not  do  a  thing.  He  grew 
so  strong  and  beautiful  that  when  he 
was  ten  years  old  he  was  as  tall  as  a 
youth  of  sixteen,  and  when  he  was  six 
teen  he  was  already  like  a  young  giant. 
This  was  because  he  had  been  brother 
to  the  storm  and  had  lived  close  to  the 
strength  and  splendor  of  the  stars. 

Only  once,  when  he  was  a  boy  of 
twelve,  a  strange  and  painful  thing  hap 
pened  to  him.  From  his  kingdom  in 
the  plains  below  there  had  been  sent  to 
him  a  beautiful  young  horse  which  had 
been  bred  for  him.  Never  had  so 
magnificent  an  animal  been  born  in 
the  royal  stable.  When  he  was  brought 
into  the  courtyard  the  boy  King's  eyes 

23 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

shone  with  joy.  He  spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  morning  in  exercising  and 
leaping  him  over  barriers.  The  An 
cient  One  in  his  tower  chamber  heard 
his  shouts  of  exultation  and  encourage 
ment.  At  last  the  King  went  out  to 
try  him  on  the  winding  mountain 
road. 

When  he  returned  he  went  at  once  to 
the  tower  chamber  to  the  Ancient  One, 
who,  when  he  raised  his  eyes  from  his 
great  book,  looked  at  him  gravely. 

"Let  us  climb  to  the  battlements," 
the  boy  said.  "We  must  talk  to 
gether." 

So  they  went,  and  when  they  stood 
looking  out  on  the  world  below,  the 
curving  turquoise  sky  above  them,  the 
eyes  of  the  Ancient  One  were  still  more 
grave. 

24 


THE    LAND    OF    THE    BLUE    FLOWER 

:'Tell  me,  young  King." 

"Something  strange  has  happened," 
King  Amor  answered.  "I  have  felt 
something  I  have  not  felt  before.  I  was 
riding  my  horse  around  the  field  on  the 
plateau  and  he  saw  something  which 
he  refused  to  pass.  It  was  a  young 
leopard  watching  us  from  a  tree.  My 
horse  reared  and  snorted.  He  would 
not  listen  to  me,  but  backed  and 
wheeled  around.  I  tried  in  vain  to 
persuade  him,  and  suddenly,  when  I 
saw  I  could  not  make  him  obey  me, 
this  strange  new  feeling  rushed  through 
all  my  body.  I  grew  hot  and  knew 
my  face  was  scarlet,  my  heart  beat 
faster  and  my  blood  seemed  to  boil  in 
my  veins.  I  shouted  out  harsh,  ugly 
sounds  —  I  forgot  that  all  things  are 
brothers  -  -  I  lifted  my  hand  and 

25 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


clenched  it  and  struck  my  horse  again 
and  again.  I  loved  him  no  longer,  I 
felt  that  he  no  longer  loved  me.  I  am 
hot  and  wearied  and  heavy  from  it  still. 
I  feel  no  more  joy.  Was  it  pain  I 
felt  ?  I  have  never  felt  pain  and  do 
not  know.  Was  it  pain  ?" 

"It  was  a  worse  thing,"  answered  the 
Ancient  One.  "It  was  anger.  When 
a  man  is  overcome  by  anger  he  has  a 
poisoned  fever.  He  loses  his  strength, 
he  loses  his  power  over  himself  and 
over  others,  he  throws  away  time  in 
which  he  might  have  gained  the  end 
he  most  desires.  There  is  no  time  for 
anger  in  the  world." 

So  King  Amor  learned  the  useless- 
ness  of  anger,  for  they  sat  long  upon 
the  battlements  while  the  Ancient  One 
told  him  how  its  poison  worked  in  the 

26 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

veins  and  weakened  the  strongest  man 
until  he  was  made  a  fool.  That  night 
Amor  lay  under  the  sky  looking  at  his 
myriad  brothers,  the  stars,  and  draw 
ing  calm  from  them. 

"If  you  lie  through  the  night  upon 
the  battlements  and  think  only  of  the 
stillness  and  the  stars  you  will  forget 
your  anger  and  its  poison  will  die 
away.  If  you  put  into  your  mind  a 
beautiful  thought  it  will  take  the  place 
of  the  evil  one.  There  is  no  room  for 
darkness  in  the  mind  of  him  who 
thinks  only  of  the  stars."  This  had 
been  said  to  him  by  the  Ancient  One. 

Upon  the  plateau  at  the  foot  of  the 
crag  on  which  the  castle  stood  there 
were  marvelous  walled  gardens.  The 
sad  young  Queen  of  the  first  King 
Mordreth  had  planted  them,  and  after 

27 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

her  death  they  had  been  left  to  run 
wild.  Since  the  baby  King  Amor  had 
been  brought  to  the  mountain  top  the 
Ancient  One  and  his  servitor  had  made 
them  bloom  again.  As  soon  as  he  was 
old  enough  to  hold  a  small  spade  Amor 
had  worked  in  the  beds.  All  things 
grew  for  him  as  if  his  touch  were  a  spell; 
birds  and  bees  and  butterflies  flocked 
round  him  as  he  labored.  He  knew 
what  the  bees  hummed  and  where  they 
flew  to  load  themselves  with  honey; 
butterflies  lighted  upon  his  hands  and 
taught  him  strange  things.  Birds  told 
him  of  their  travels,  and  brought  him 
seeds  from  far  countries  which  he 
planted  in  his  gardens  and  which 
bloomed  into  marvelous  flowers.  A 
swallow  who  loved  him  very  much  and 

who  had  seen  many  wonderful  lands 

m~***^~*~***~**^***m*m***mm*mm^^*m^~~**~~*~*~*~***^~~*^*** 

28 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

once  brought  him  a  seed  from  an  em 
peror's  secret  garden  which  none  but 
four  of  his  own  slaves  had  ever  seen. 
These  slaves  had  been  born  in  the  gar 
den  and  would  never  leave  it  while 
they  lived. 

King  Amor  planted  the  seed  in  a 
pleasaunce  of  its  own.  It  grew  into  the 
most  beautiful  blue  flower  the  world  had 
ever  known.  It  was  of  a  blue  so  pure 
and  exquisitely  intense  that  it  was  rap 
ture  to  look  at  it.  Its  blossoms  hung 
from  a  tall  stem  and  in  its  first  year 
it  gave  a  thousand  seeds.  Each  year 
Amor  planted  more  flowers  and  each 
year  they  grew  taller  and  more  wonder 
ful  and  blossomed  a  longer  time.  When 
the  summer  wind  blew  it  shook  out 
clouds  of  delicate  fragrance  which  some 
times  floated  down  the  mountain  until 

29 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


the  wretched  dwellers  in  King  Mor- 
dreth's  land  forgot  their  quarrels  and 
misery  and  even  lifted  their  heavy 
heads  to  inhale  it  and  ask  each  other 
what  was  being  done  upon  the  moun 
tain.  Each  year  King  Amor  gathered 
the  seeds  and  stored  them  in  an  un 
used  tower  of  his  castle. 

Taller  and  stronger  he  grew  and  each 
day  wiser  and  more  beautiful.  Each 
plant,  each  weed,  each  four-footed 
thing,  each  wind,  each  star  of  heaven 
taught  him  its  wonders  and  its  wis 
dom.  His  eyes  were  so  marvelous 
in  their  straight-glanced  splendor  that 
when  he  looked  at  a  man  they  seemed 
to  read  his  soul  and  command  its  truth 
to  answer  him.  He  was  so  powerful 
that  he  could  break  an  iron  bar  in  two 
pieces  with  his  hands. 

30 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

When  he  was  twenty  years  old  the 
Ancient  One  took  him  up  on  the  bat 
tlements,  and  giving  him  a  strong  glass 
told  him  to  look  down  upon  the  capital 
city  on  the  plain  and  see  what  was  being 
done  there. 

"I  see  many  people  gathered  in 
crowds,"  Amor  said,  when  he  had 
looked  for  a  few  moments.  "I  see 
bright  colors  and  waving  pennants  and 
triumphal  arches.  It  is  as  if  some  great 
ceremony  were  being  prepared  for." 

"The  people  are  making  ready  for 
your  coronation,"  said  the  Ancient  One. 
"To-morrow  you  will  be  led  in  state 
down  the  mountain  and  acclaimed 
King.  It  was  to  fit  you  to  reign  over 
your  kingdom  that  I  taught  you  to  know 
all  the  wonders  of  the  world  and  have 
shown  you  that  no  thing  is  useless  but 

31 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

folly  and  dishonoring  thought.  That 
which  you  have  learned  from  your 
brothers  here  you  go  down  the  moun 
tain  to  teach  your  brothers  there.  You 
will  see  things  which  are  not  beautiful 
.  and  those  which  are  unclean,  but  hold 
high  your  head  when  you  walk,  young 
King,  and  never  forget  the  sun,  the 
wind,  and  the  stars." 

To  himself  as  he  looked  on  him  the 
Ancient  One  said:  "When  he  stands 
before  them  they  will  think  he  is  a 
young  god." 

The  next  morning  a  splendid  pro 
cession  wound  its  glittering  way  up  the 
mountain  road  to  the  castle.  There 
were  princes  and  nobles  and  chieftains. 
Rich  colors  glowed  in  their  attire  and 
gorgeous  banners  and  pennants  waved 
over  them,  while  music  from  gold  and 

32 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


silver  trumpets  accompanied  them  as 
they  rode  and  their  many  followers 
marched  behind. 

The  Ancient  One  in  his  long  robe  of 
gray  stood  by  King  Amor  on  the  broad 
stone  terrace  guarded  by  its  crouching 
carved  lions. 

"This  is  your  King,  O  people!"  he 
said. 

And  when  the  people  looked  it  was 
as  he  had  said  it  would  be.  They  drew 
back  a  little  and  gazed  in  fear,  and 
many  of  the  followers  fell  upon  their 
knees.  They  thought  they  saw  a  beau 
tiful  young  giant  and  god.  But  he  was 
only  a  splendid  and  powerful  young 
man  who  had  never  known  a  dark 
thought  and  had  lived  near  to  his 
brothers  the  stars.  His  horse,  adorned 
with  golden  trappings,  was  brought  and 

33 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


he  was  led  down  the  mountain  side, 
through  the  gates  into  the  capital  city 
of  his  kingdom.  He  desired  that  the 
Ancient  One  should  ride  by  his  side. 

What  he  saw  as  he  rode  to  the  place 
of  coronation  he  had  never  seen  before. 
Notwithstanding  the  embroidered  silk 
and  velvet  hangings  decorating  the 
fronts  of  the  rich  people's  houses,  he 
caught  glimpses  of  filthy  side  streets, 
squalid  alleys,  and  tumble-down  tene 
ments.  He  saw  forlorn  little  children 
scud  away  like  rats  into  their  holes  as  he 
drew  near,  and  wretched,  vicious-look 
ing  men  and  women  fighting  with  each 
other  for  places  in  the  crowd.  Sharp, 
miserable  faces  peered  round  corners 
at  him,  and  nobody  smiled  because 
every  one  hated  or  distrusted  his  neigh 
bor,  and  they  dreaded  and  disliked  the 

34 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

young  King  because  all  the  King  Mor- 
dreths  had  been  evil  and  selfish,  and  he 
was  their  descendant. 

When  they  saw  that  he  was  so  tall 
and  powerful  and  carried  his  hand 
some  head  so  high,  often  looking  up 
ward,  they  feared  him  still  more;  as 
their  own  heads  hung  down  they  never 
saw  anything  but  the  dirt  and  dust  be 
neath  their  feet  or  the  quarrels  about 
them,  so  their  minds  were  full  of  fears 
and  ugly  thoughts,  and  they  at  once 
began  to  be  afraid  of  him  and  suspect 
him  of  being  proud.  He  could  do  twice 
as  much  evil  as  the  other  Kings,  they 
said,  since  he  was  twice  as  strong  and 
twice  as  handsome.  It  was  their  na 
ture  to  first  think  an  evil  thought  of 
anything  or  anybody  and  to  be  afraid 
of  all  things  at  the  outset. 

35 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


The  princes  and  nobles  who  rode  in 
the  procession  tried  to  prevent  King 
Amor  seeing  the  wretched-looking 
people  and  ill-kept  streets.  They 
pointed  out  the  palaces  and  decora 
tions  and  beautiful  ladies  throwing 
flowers  in  his  path  from  the  balconies. 
He  praised  all  the  splendors  and  sa 
luted  the  balconies,  looking  up  with 
such  radiant  and  smiling  eyes  that 
the  ladies  almost  threw  themselves 
after  their  flowers  and  cried  out  that 
never,  never  had  there  been  crowned 
such  a  beautiful  young  King  before. 

"Do  not  look  at  the  rabble,  your  i 
Majesty,"    the    Prime    Minister    said. 
"They  are  an  evil,  ill-tempered  lot  of 
worthless  malcontents  and  thieves." 

"I  would  not  look  at  them,"  an 
swered  King  Amor,  "if  I  knew  that  I 

36 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

could  not  help  them.  There  is  no  time 
to  look  at  dark  things  if  one  cannot 
make  them  brighter.  I  look  at  these 
because  there  is  something  to  be  done. 
I  do  not  yet  know  what." 

'There  is  such  hatred  in  their  eyes 
that  they  will  only  make  you  angry, 
Sire,"  said  a  handsome  young  prince 
who  rode  near. 

'  There  is  no  time  for  anger,"  said 
Amor,  holding  his  crowned  head  high. 
"It  is  a  worthless  thing." 

After  sunset  there  was  a  great  ban 
quet  and  after  it  a  great  ball,  and  the 
I  courtiers  and  princes  were  delighted  by 
the  beauty  and  grace  of  the  new  King. 
He  was  much  brighter  and  more  charm 
ing  than  any  of  the  King  Mordreths 
had  been.  His  laugh  was  full  of 
gaiety  and  the  people  who  stood  near 

37 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

him  felt  happier,  though  they  did  not 
know  why. 

But  when  the  ball  was  at  its  height  he 
stepped  into  the  center  of  the  room  and 
spoke  aloud  to  the  splendid  company. 

"I  have  seen  the  broad  streets  and 
the  palaces  and  all  that  is  beautiful  in 
my  capital,"  he  said.  "Now  I  must  go 
to  the  narrow  streets  and  the  dark  ones. 
I  must  see  the  miserable  people,  the 
cripples,  the  wretched  ones,  the  drunk 
ards  and  the  thieves." 

Every  one  clamored  and  protested. 
These  things  they  had  hidden  from  him; 
they  said  kings  should  not  see  them. 

"I  will  see  them,"  he  said  with  a 
smile  which  was  beautiful  and  strange. 
"I  go  now,  on  foot,  and  unattended  ex 
cept  for  my  friend  the  Ancient  One. 
Let  the  ball  go  on." 

38 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

He  strode  through  the  glittering 
throng  with  the  gray-clad  Ancient  One 
at  his  side.  He  still  wore  his  crown 
upon  his  head  because  he  wished  his 
people  to  know  that  their  King  had 
come  to  them. 

Through  dark  and  loathsome  places 
they  went,  through  narrow  streets  and 
back  alleys  and  courts,  where  people 
scurried  away  like  rats  as  the  gutter 
children  had  done  in  the  daytime. 
King  Amor  could  not  have  seen  them 
but  that  he  had  brought  with  him  a 
bright  lantern  and  held  it  up  in  the  air 
above  his  high  head.  The  light  shin 
ing  upon  his  beautiful  face  and  his 
crown  made  him  look  more  than  ever 
like  a  young  god  and  giant,  and  the 
people  cowered  terrified  before  him, 
asking  each  other  what  such  a  King 

39 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


would  do  to  wretches  like  themselves. 
But  just  a  few  very  little  children 
smiled  at  him  because  he  was  so  young 
and  bright  and  splendid.  No  one  in 
the  black  holes  and  corners  could  under 
stand  why  a  King  should  come  walk 
ing  among  them  on  the  night  of  his 
coronation  day.  Most  of  them  thought 
that  the  next  morning  he  would  order 
them  all  to  be  killed,  and  their  houses 
burned,  because  he  would  only  think  of 
them  as  vermin. 

Once  as  he  passed  through  a  dark 
court  a  madman  darted  out  in  his  path 
shaking  his  fist. 

"We  hate  you!"  he  cried  out.  "We 
hate  you!" 

The  dwellers  in  the  court  gasped 
with  terror,  wondering  what  would 
happen.  But  the  tall  young  King 

40 


•THE    LAND    OF    THE    BLUE    FLOWER 

stood  holding  his  lantern  above  his 
head  and  gazing  at  the  madman  with 
deep  thought  in  his  eyes. 

'' There  is  no  time  for  hatred  in  the 
world,"  he  said.  "There  is  no  time." 
And  then  he  passed  on. 

The  look  of  deep  thought  was  in  his 
face  throughout  the  hours  in  which  he 
strode  on  until  he  had  seen  all  he  had 
come  to  see. 

The  next  day  he  rode  back  up  the 
mountain  to  his  castle  on  the  crag, 
and  when  the  night  fell  he  lay  out 
upon  the  battlements  under  the  sky  as 
he  had  done  on  so  many  nights.  The 
soft  wind  blew  about  him  as  he  looked 
up  at  the  stars. 

"I  do  not  know,  my  brothers,"  he 
said  to  them.  "Tell  me."  And  he  lay 
silent  until  the  great  sweet  stillness  of 

41 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


the  night  seemed  to  fill  his  soul,  and 
when  the  stars  began  to  fade  he  slept 
in  rapturous  peace. 

The  people  in  his  kingdom  on  the 
plain  waited,  wondering  what  he  would 
do.  During  the  next  few  days  they 
quarreled  and  hated  each  other  more 
than  ever,  the  rich  ones  because  they 
all  wanted  to  gain  his  favor,  and  each 
was  jealous  of  the  other;  the  poor  ones 
because  they  were  afraid  of  him  and 
each  man  feared  that  his  neighbor 
would  betray  things  he  had  done  in  the 
past. 

Only  two  boys  working  together  in  a 
field,  having  stopped  to  wrangle  and 
fight,  one  of  them  suddenly  stood  still 

remembering    something,    and    said    a 

i  • 
strange  thing  in  a  strange  voice: 

'  The  re  is  no  time  for  anger.     There 

42 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


is  no  time."  And  as  he  fell  to  work 
again  his  companion  did  the  same,  and 
when  they  had  finished  their  task  of 
weeding  they  talked  about  the  thing  and 
remembered  that  when  they  had  quar 
reled  the  day  before  they  had  not  fin 
ished  their  task  at  all,  and  had  not  been 
paid,  and  had  gone  home  sore  from  the 
blows  they  had  given  each  other,  and 
had  had  no  supper. 

"No,   there   is   no   time/'   they  de 
cided. 


43 


PART    III 


PK.  j*   <»   A    »  i 

l            f*  ^«&. 

W  I 

THE    LAND   OF   THE    BLUE    FLOWER 

PART  III 

*o  ** 

T  the  beginning  of  the  following 

&    $£* 

t     , 

week  there  were  rumors  that  a 

fa 

strange    law    had    been    made  --the 

tfr 

& 

strangest  ever  known  in  the  world.     It 

$fe     1 

<) 

was  something  about  a  Blue  Flower. 

What  had  flowers  to  do  with  laws,  or 

what   had   laws   to   do   with   flowers? 

*& 

People  quarreled  about  what  the  mean 

£&      $ 

; 

ing  of  such  a  law   might   be.     Those 
who  thought  first  of  evil   things   and 

>»* 

^W 

fears   began   to   say  that   in   the   rich 

M 

people's  gardens  was  to  be  planted  a 

Mir 

Blue    Flower    whose    perfume    would 

&    £  I 

poison  all  the  poor. 

, 

The  only  ones  who  did  not  quarrel 

were  the  two  boys  and  their  friends  who 

47 

THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


had  already  begun  to  make  a  sort  of 
password  of  "There  is  no  time  for 
anger."  One  of  them  who  was  clever 
added  a  new  idea  to  the  saying. 

"There  is  no  time  for  fear!"  he  cried 
out  in  the  field.  "Let  us  go  on  with 
our  work."  And  they  finished  their 
task  early  and  played  games. 

At  last  one  morning  it  was  made 
known  that  the  new  King  was  to  give 
a  feast  in  the  open  air  to  all  the  people. 
It  was  to  be  on  the  plain  outside  the 
city,  and  he  himself  was  going  to  pro 
claim  to  them  the  Law  of  the  Blue 
Flower. 

"Now  we  shall  know  the  worst, 
growled  and  shivered  the  Afraid  Ones 
as  they  shuffled  their  way  to  the  plain, 
and  the  boys  who  used  the  password 
heard  them. 

48 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

'' There  is  no  time  to  think  of  the 
worst!"  shouted  the  clever  one  at  the 
top  of  his  voice.  "There  is  no  time. 
We  shall  be  late  for  the  feast." 

And  a  number  of  people  actually 
turned  to  listen  because  there  was  a 
high,  strong,  gay  sound  in  his  voice 
such  as  had  never  been  heard  in  King 
Mordreth's  Land  before. 

The  plain  was  covered  with  thick 
green  grass,  and  beautiful  spreading 
trees  grew  on  it.  There  was  a  richly 
draped  platform  for  King  Amor's  gold 
and  ivory  chair,  but  when  the  people 
gathered  about  he  stood  up  before  them, 
a  beautiful  young  giant  with  eyes  like 
fixed  stars  and  head  held  high.  And 
he  read  his  law  in  a  voice  which,  won 
derful  to  relate,  was  heard  by  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  —  even  by  the 

49 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


little  cripple  crouching  alone  in  the 
grass  on  the  very  outskirts  of  the  crowd 
and  not  expecting  to  hear  or  see  any 
thing. 

This  is  what  he  read: 

"In  my  pleasaunce  on  the  mountain 
top  there  grows  a  Blue  Flower.  One  of 
my  brothers,  the  birds,  brought  me  its 
seed  from  an  Emperor's  hidden  garden. 
It  is  as  beautiful  as  the  sky  at  dawn. 
It  has  a  strange  power.  It  dispels  evil 
fortune  and  the  dark  thoughts  which 
bring  it.  There  is  no  time  for  dark 
thoughts  —  there  is  no  time  for  evil. 
Listen  to  my  Law.  To-morrow  seeds 
will  be  given  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  my  kingdom  —  even  to  the 
newborn.  Every  man,  woman,  and 
child  —  even  the  newborn  —  is  com 
manded  by  the  law  to  plant  and  feed 

5° 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

and  watch  over  the  Blue  Flower.  It 
is  the  work  of  each  to  make  it  grow. 
The  mother  of  the  newborn  can  hold 
its  little  hand  and  make  it  drop  the 
seeds  into  the  earth.  As  the  child 
grows  she  must  show  it  the  green  shoots 
when  they  pierce  the  brown  soil.  She 
must  babble  to  it  of  its  Blue  Flower. 
By  the  time  it  is  pleased  by  color  it  will 
love  the  blossoms,  and  the  spell  of 
happiness  and  good  fortune  will  begin 
to  work  for  it.  It  is  not  one  person  here 
and  there  who  must  plant  the  flower, 
but  each  and  every  one.  To  those  who 
have  not  land  about  them,  all  the  land 
is  free.  You  may  plant  by  the  road 
side,  in  a  cranny  of  a  wall,  in  an  old 
box  or  glass  or  tub,  in  any  bare  space 
in  any  man's  field  or  garden.  But 
each  must  plant  his  seeds  and  watch 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


over  and  feed  them.  Next  year  when 
the  Blue  Flower  blossoms  I  shall  ride 
through  my  kingdom  and  bestow  my 
rewards.  This  is  my  Law." 

"What  will  befall  if  some  of  us  do 
not  make  them  grow  ? "  groaned  some 
of  the  Afraid  Ones. 

"There  is  no  time  to  think  of  that!" 
shouted  the  boy  who  was  clever.  "  Plant 
them!" 

When  the  Prime  Minister  and  his 
followers  told  the  King  that  larger  and 
stronger  prisons  must  be  built  for  the 
many  criminals,  and  that  heavier  taxes 
must  be  laid  upon  the  people  to  rescue 
the  country  from  poverty,  his  answer 
to  them  was:  "Wait  until  the  blooming 
of  the  Blue  Flower." 

In  a  short  time  every  one  was  work- 

52 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

ing  in  the  open  air,  digging  in  the  soil 
—  tiny  children  as  well  as  men  and 
women.  Drunkards  and  thieves  and 
idlers  who  had  never  worked  before 
came  out  of  their  dark  holes  and  cor 
ners  into  the  light  of  the  sun.  It  was 
not  a  hard  thing  to  plant  a  few  flower 
seeds,  and  because  the  King  Amor 
looked  so  much  more  powerful  than 
other  men,  and  had  eyes  so  wonderful 
and  commanding,  they  did  not  know 
what  punishment  he  would  invent  for 
them  and  were  afraid  to  disobey  him. 
But  somehow,  after  they  had  worked 
in  the  sweet-scented  earth  for  a  while 
and  had  seen  others  working,  the  light 
of  the  sun  and  the  freshness  of  the 
air  made  them  feel  in  better  humor; 
the  wind  blew  away  their  evil  fancies 
and  their  headaches,  and  because  there 

53 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

was  so  much  talk  and  wondering  about 
the  magic  of  the  Blue  Flower  they 
became  interested,  and  wanted  to  see 
what  it  would  do  for  them  when  it 
blossomed.  Scarcely  any  of  them  had 
ever  tried  to  make  a  flower  grow 
before  and  they  gradually  thought  of 
it  a  great  deal.  There  was  less  quar 
reling  because  conversation  with  neigh 
bors  all  about  a  Blue  Flower  gave  no 
reason  for  hard  words.  The  worst  and 
idlest  were  curious  about  it  and  every 
one  tried  experiments  of  his  own. 
The  children  were  delighted  and  ac 
tually  grew  happy  and  rosy  over  their 
digging  and  watering  and  care-taking. 
Gradually  all  sorts  of  curious  things 
happened.  People  who  were  growing 
Blue  Flowers  began  to  keep  the  ground 
around  about  them  in  order.  They 

54 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

did  not  like  to  see  bits  of  paper  and 
rubbish  lying  about,  so  they  cleared 
them  away.  One  quite  new  thing 
which  occurred  was  that  sometimes 
people  even  helped  each  other  a  little. 
Cripples  and  those  who  were  weak 
actually  found  that  there  were  stronger 
ones  who  would  do  things  for  them 
when  their  backs  ached,  and  it  was 
hard  to  carry  water  or  dig  up  weeds. 
No  one  in  King  Mordreth's  Land  had 
ever  helped  another  before. 

The  boy  who  was  clever  did  more 
than  all  the  rest.  He  gathered  together 
all  the  children  he  could  and  formed 
them  into  a  band  using  the  passwords. 
In  time  it  became  quite  like  a  little 
army.  They  called  themselves  The 
Band  of  the  Blue  Flower,  and  each  boy 
and  girl  was  bound  to  remember  the 

55 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

passwords  and  apply  them  to  all  they 
did.  So,  often,  when  a  number  of 
people  were  together  and  things  began 
to  go  wrong,  a  clear  young  voice  would 

cry  out  somewhere  like  a  silver  battle 

J 
cry: 

"There  is  no  time  for  anger!"  or 
"There  is  no  time  for  hate!"  or  "There 
is  no  time  to  fret!  There  is  no  time." 

Among  the  great  and  rich  people 
also  singular  things  came  to  pass. 
Those  who  had  wasted  their  days 
loitering  or  rioting  were  obliged  to  get 
up  in  the  morning  to  work  in  their 
gardens,  and  finding  that  exercise  and 
fresh  air  improved  their  health  and 
spirits  they  began  to  like  it.  Court 
ladies  found  it  good  for  their  com 
plexions  and  tempers;  busy  merchants 
discovered  that  it  made  their  heads 

56 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

clearer;  ambitious  students  found  that 
after  an  hour  spent  evening  and  morn 
ing  over  their  Blue  Flower  beds  they 
could  study  twice  as  long  without  fa 
tigue.  The  children  of  the  princes  and 
nobles  became  so  full  of  work  and  talk 
of  their  soil  and  their  seeds  that  they 
quite  forgot  to  squabble  and  be  jealous 
of  each  other's  importance  at  Court. 
Never  in  one  story  could  it  be  told  how 
many  unusual,  interesting,  and  wonder 
ful  things  occurred  in  the  once  gloomy 
King  Mordreth's  Land  just  because 
every  person  in  it,  rich  and  poor,  old 
and  young,  good  and  bad,  had  to  plant 
and  care  for  and  live  every  day  of  life 
with  a  Blue  Flower.  Oh!  the  corners 
and  crannies  and  queer  places  it  was 
planted  in;  and  oh!  the  thrill  of  ex 
citement  everywhere  when  the  first 

57 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


tender  green  shoots  thrust  their  way 
through  the  earth!  And  the  wave  of 
excitement  which  passed  over  the  whole 
land  when  the  first  buds  showed  them 
selves.  By  that  time  every  one  was  so 
interested  that  even  the  Afraid  Ones 
had  forgotten  to  ask  each  other  what 
King  Amor  would  do  to  them  if  they 
had  no  Blue  Flower.  Somehow,  people 
had  gained  courage  and  they  knew  the 
Blue  Flower  would  grow  —  and  they 
knew  there  was  no  time  to  stop  work 
ing  while  they  worried  and  said  "Sup 
pose  it  didn't."  There  was  no  time. 

Sometimes  the  young  King  was  on 
the  mountain  top  with  the  wind  and  the 
eagle  and  the  stars,  and  sometimes  he 
was  in  his  palace  in  the  city,  but  he  was 
always  working  and  thinking  for  his 
people.  He  was  not  seen  by  the  people, 

58 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

however,  until  a  splendid  summer  day 
came  when  it  was  proclaimed  by 
heralds  in  the  streets  that  he  would 
begin  his  journey  through  the  land 
by  riding  through  the  capital  city  to 
see  the  blossoming  of  the  Blue  Flowers, 
and  there  would  be  a  feast  once  more 
upon  the  plain. 

It  was  a  wonderful  day,  the  air  was 
full  of  golden  light  and  the  sky  of  such  a 
blueness  as  never  had  been  seen  before. 
Out  of  the  palace  gates  he  rode  and  he 
wore  his  crown,  and  his  eyes  were  more 
brilliant  than  the  jewels  in  it,  and 
his  smile  was  more  radiant  than  a  sun 
rise  as  he  looked  about  him,  for 
every  breath  he  drew  in  was  fragrant, 
every  ugly  place  was  hidden,  and  every 
squalid  corner  filled  with  beauty,  for  it 
seemed  as  if  the  whole  world  were  wav- 


59 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

ing  with  Blue  Flowers.  Tumble-down 
houses  and  fences  were  covered  with 
them  because  some  of  them  climbed  like 
vines;  neglected  fields  and  gardens  had 
been  made  neat  so  that  they  would 
grow;  rubbish  and  dirt  had  been  cleaned 
away  to  make  room  for  clumps  and 
patches  of  them.  You  could  not  grow 
the  Blue  Flower  among  dirt  and  dis 
order  any  more  than  you  could  grow  it 
while  you  were  spending  your  time  in 
drinking  and  quarreling.  By  the  road 
sides,  in  courts,  in  windows,  in  cracks, 
in  walls,  in  broken  places  in  roofs,  in 
great  people's  gardens,  on  the  window 
sills,  or  about  the  doorways  of  poor 
people's  hovels  —  fair  and  fragrant  and 
waving,  grew  the  Blue  Flower.  Where 
it  waved  there  was  no  room  for  dirt  and 
rubbish,  and  suddenly  even  the  dullest 

60 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


people  began  to  see  that  the  face  of  the 
whole  land  was  changed  as  if  by  some 
strange  magic,  and  the  whole  popula 
tion  seemed  changed  with  it.  Every 
body  looked  fresher  and  more  cheerful, 
people  had  actually  learned  to  smile  and 
keep  themselves  clean,  and  there  was 
not  one  who  was  not  healthier.  They 
had,  in  fact,  been  noticing  this  for 
some  time,  and  they  had  said  to  each 
other  that  the  power  of  the  Blue  Flower, 
of  which  the  King  had  spoken,  was 
beginning  to  work.  The  children  had 
grown  gay  and  rosy,  and  the  boy  who 
was  clever  and  all  his  companions 
had  found  time  to  earn  themselves 
new  clothes,  because  they  had  never 
forgotten  their  passwords.  All  the 
farmers  wanted  them  to  work  in  their 
fields  because  they  said  there  was  no 


61 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

time  to  idle,  no  time  to  fight,  no  time 
to  play  evil  tricks. 

On  the  King  rode,  and  on  and  on 
and  on,  and  the  farther  he  went  the 
more  splendid  and  joyous  his  smile 
grew. 

But  at  no  time  during  the  day  was  it 
more  beautiful  than  when  he  met  the 
little  cripple  who  had  sat  on  the  outside 
of  the  crowd  on  the  first  feast  day,  not 
expecting  to  see  or  hear  anything. 

The  cripple  lived  in  a  tiny  hovel  on 
the  edge  of  the  city,  and  when  the 
glittering  procession  drew  near  it  the 
small  patch  of  garden  was  quite  bare 
and  had  not  a  Blue  Flower  in  it.  And 
the  little  cripple  was  sitting  huddled 
upon  his  broken  door-step,  sobbing 
softly  with  his  face  hidden  in  his  arms. 

King  Amor  drew  up  his  white  horse 

62 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 


and  looked  at  him  and  looked  at  his 
bare  garden. 

"What  has  happened  here  ?"  he  said. 
"This  garden  has  not  been  neglected. 
It  has  been  dug  and  kept  free  of  weeds, 
but  my  Law  has  been  broken.  There 
is  no  Blue  Flower." 

Then  the  little  cripple  got  up  trem 
bling  and  hobbled  through  his  rickety 
gate  and  threw  himself  down  upon  the 
earth  before  the  King's  white  horse, 
sobbing  hopelessly  and  heart-brokenly. 

"Oh  King!"  he  cried.  "I  am  only  a 
cripple,  and  small,  and  I  can  easily  be 
killed.  I  have  no  flowers  at  all.  When 
I  opened  my  package  of  seeds  I  was  so 
glad  that  I  forgot  the  wind  was  blowing, 
and  suddenly  a  great  gust  carried  them 
all  away  forever  and  I  had  not  even 
one  left.  I  was  afraid  to  tell  anybody." 

63 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

And  then  he  cried  so  that  he  could  not 
speak. 

"Go  on,"  said  the  young  King  gently. 
"What  did  you  do?" 

"I  could  do  nothing,"  said  the  little 
cripple.  "Only  I  made  my  garden 
neat  and  kept  away  the  weeds.  And 
sometimes  I  asked  other  people  to  let 
me  dig  a  little  for  them.  And  always 
when  I  went  out  I  picked  up  the  ugly 
things  I  saw  lying  about  —  the  bits  of 
paper  and  rubbish  —  and  I  dug  holes 
for  them  in  the  earth.  But  I  have 
broken  your  Law." 

Then  the  people  gasped  for  breath, 
for  King  Amor  dismounted  from  his 
horse  and  lifted  the  little  cripple  up  in 
his  arms  and  held  him  against  his 
breast. 

"You  shall  ride  with  me  to-day,"  he 

64 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

said,  "and  go  to  my  castle  on  the  moun 
tain  crag  and  live  near  the  stars  and  the 
sun.  When  you  kept  the  weeds  from 
your  bare  little  garden,  and  when  you 
dug  for  others  and  hid  away  ugliness 
and  disorder,  you  planted  a  Blue  Flower 
every  day.  You  have  planted  more 
than  all  the  rest,  and  your  reward  shall 
be  the  sweetest,  for  you  planted  with 
out  the  seeds." 

And  then  the  people  shouted  until 
the  world  seemed  to  ring  with  their  joy, 
and  somehow  they  knew  that  King 
Mordreth's  Land  had  come  into  fair 
days  and  they  thought  it  was  the  Blue 
Flower  magic. 

"But  the  earth  is  full  of  magic," 
Amor  said  to  the  Ancient  One,  after 
the  feast  on  the  plain  was  over.  "  Most 

65 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

men  know  nothing  of  it  and  so  comes 
misery.  The  first  law  of  the  earth's 
magic  is  this  one.  If  you  fill  your  mind 
with  a  beautiful  thought  there  will  be 
no  room  in  it  for  an  ugly  one.  This  I 
learned  from  you  and  from  my  brothers 
the  stars.  So  I  gave  my  people  the 
Blue  Flower  to  think  of  and  work  for. 
It  led  them  to  see  beauty  and  to  work 
happily  and  filled  the  land  with  bloom. 
I,  their  King,  am  their  brother,  and 
soon  they  will  understand  this  and  I 
can  help  them,  and  all  will  be  well. 
They  shall  be  wise  and  joyous  and 
know  good  fortune." 

The  little  cripple  lived  near  the  sun 
and  the  stars  in  the  castle  on  the  moun 
tain  crag  until  he  grew  strong  and 
straight.  Then  he  was  the  King's  chief 
gardener.  The  boy  who  was  clever  was 

66 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  BLUE  FLOWER 

made  captain  of  his  band,  which  be 
came  the  King's  own  guard  and  never 
left  him.  And  the  gloom  of  King 
Mordreth's  Land  was  forgotten,  be 
cause  it  was  known  throughout  all  the 
world  as  The  Land  of  the  Blue  Flower. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  12  19749 
1990 

J':"'J  -  8  1990 


LD  21-95m^-ll,'50(2877sl6)476 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


BDODt7MMD3 


SMITH    BROS. 

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